The transportation of products and people is absolutely essential to our economy. It's the lifeblood of job creation and economic growth. We are at a critical period in the Nation's long and storied railroad history. There are severe consequences to failures in safety and reliability. We've seen them in Metro-North, the busiest railroad in the country, and the series of incidents have caused not only delays in convenience, economic harm, but also injuries and fatalities. The American public also may not realize the severe environmental consequences and economic costs that could result from...

We are here at a moment of enormous peril and promise. Promise, because we have an opportunity to invest in the future of our transportation system, grow the economy, expand job creation, and achieve a larger vision for our Nation's transportation system. But, at the same time, there's tremendous peril in the decaying and crumbling infrastructure that faces us, literally, every day on our roads, bridges, railroads, and other public facilities. Resources and rules, and effective enforcement of those rules, are a prerequisite to safety and reliability. There are indications that some of the...

About 4,000 people are killed each year in truck crashes and nearly 100,000 are injured each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), truck crash injuries increased by 40 percent from 2009 to 2012. There have been a lot of headlines lately; Tracy Morgan, the comedian, was seriously injured in a crash in early June involving a large truck, which also severely injured a Connecticut resident. Rule changes in 2013 were designed to prevent truck drivers from being forced to work too many hours, becoming exhausted and endangering themselves and other drivers on...

Dating back to the Eisenhower administration and even before that-we've seen the Federal Government make transportation investments a priority. We've shown the world what it means to have first-class roads, bridges, tunnels, ports and railroads. We've shown other countries how it can be done. But our attitude has shifted. For some reason, we're not doing that any more. We're no longer leading the world. Rather, we're now looking to China and elsewhere as they become the ones who are building the big projects with a grand vision and an eye to the future. Still, our needs are as real as ever....